20 years ago, Disney embarked on an ambitious mission to forever change the landscape of Anaheim’s economy. Over the course of the past two decades they have succeeded in securing hundreds of millions of dollars in giveaways that inevitably serve to benefit nothing beyond their own bottom line.

Anaheim’s reward for participating in these magnificent acts of largesse has been nothing beyond a slew of low-paying jobs that serve to only worsen the economic divide that has come to define Anaheim, even Orange County as a whole.

While Orange County’s largest employer, the Walt Disney Corporation, accumulates further wealth at the expense of local taxpayers, the community has been left underserved and impoverished as a result.

Thus we, the residents of Anaheim, who have for far too long been suffering in the shadow of the “Happiest Place on Earth”, have decided that our time has arrived. Our planned acts of protest outside of the Disneyland Resort will serve as a flare to a City Council that must take immediate action to right the wrongs that have been committed against the Anaheim residents.

No longer can the Resort Area continue to pay poverty wages while simultaneously accepting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funded giveaways. No longer can our city continue to approve the construction of “market rate” housing, while simultaneously failing to address the irrefutable need for affordable housing within our borders. No longer can the residents of this city look the other way while our city’s coffers are pillaged by those seeking to enrich others at the top 1% of the income bracket.

While our county’s homeless problem worsens, and people literally die in the streets, Anaheim’s Resort area flaunts its incomparable wealth, preserving its own “city on a shining hill” image while shirking away from its duty to work hand-in-hand with the community to solve our issues.

The Walt Disney Corporation and their collaborators have played an outsized role in local politics, always to their own advantage. And now, we are asking them to return some of their accumulated wealth to the community that has long been forgotten. “Money talks” in Anaheim politics, and unfortunately the community here has been left with none. Thus, we must make it clear that we can not do this alone. The Resort Area has long shirked away from their duties to preserve and assist the community, those days are over.

We will make our demands clear to those with the finances, and political sway, to change things in Anaheim. And thus the Resort Area, as the largest recipient of taxpayer funds, is our first target. We seek change. The “Happiest Place on Earth” must be extended beyond the guarded gates at Disneyland, and encompass Anaheim as a whole. That is our goal.

About Admin

"Admin" is just editor Vern Nelson or associate editor Greg Diamond sharing something that they mostly didn't write themselves, but think you should see. Before December 2010, "Admin" may have been former blog owner Art Pedroza.

My “Weekend Open Thread Home Experiment Kit” that I ordered a couple of years ago finally arrived courtesy of Amazon Sub-Prime (“The delivery service for the rest of us!”) and so I’ve successfully transferred Weekend Open Thread status from the previous post to this fine one. Unfortunately, two “WOT-directed” comments — the first by Cynthia, with a reply by Vern — were already there, so I’m transplanting them here as well:

Cynthia Ward
Posted June 30, 2017 at 9:58 PM
Weekend open thread. The Palais cop-on-kid incident found its way into court filing. Hold your shock.

Vern Nelson
Posted June 30, 2017 at 11:00 PM
Good. I hope someone is also seeking justice for that black boy who came to Christian’s aid. I heard that his family was so freaked out about the whole thing that they moved.

Chumley’s 2 most prolific vicious anonymous commenters “Vasquez” and “OCDEM” have been having a hard time telling us apart around here. I got credit/blame for this Summer of the People article though my name’s not on it anywhere, and the real author’s name is. But then Greg got the blame for my crack about Michelle Steel / Koreans / dog and cat eating.

That latter was a quick comment I tossed out without proper context that probably sounded gratuitously racist to anyone (like the two anonymous dipshits) who doesn’t follow county politics closely: it’s a reference to a recent meeting where the Supervisors took turns whining about being personally criticized and attacked by public speakers; when Michelle’s turn came up she protested out of the blue that “I am from Korea BUT I DO NOT EAT DOGS AND CATS!” Nobody had said she does, and it was funny, like “the lady does protest too much!”

I hope the Summer of the People has some good outcomes, and I hope to join them when I can, but it wasn’t my idea. Learn to read, jackasses.

Speaking of Christian Dorscht, I assume this suit means the charges against him have been thrown out? And that there IS a limit to the injustice in this county? I think this suit merits a piece by our resident lawyer.

I wouldn’t assume that. Rackaukas is in bed with the kleptocracy and their chronicler is still trying to paint the kids as the criminals. There is no evidence of them committing any crime but that never stopped the DA when cops were involved. On the other hand there is lots of evidence that the guy with the gun (the one who wasn’t even arrested) committed several felonies.

After reading your comment I made a quick trip to Lil’ Clumski’s site and noticed a comment from “Vasquez” that ended with a reference to Cynthia’s dogs being killed – a comment obviously approved by the proprietor. And it really makes you wonder what sort of low sack o’ shit would think, let alone write something like that.

Yup. Fake “Vasquez” fantasized about you losing your house and having your corgis killed in the process. “OC Dem” then joked about them not going to waste because Greg or somebody would eat them. And Dan just sat there laughing at the whole thing which is still up, although I see you’ve weighed in now.

The Liberal OC is now nothing better than a hate site. I’d like to see those two anonymous cowards outed, and placed in the public stocks for a month with their worst comments hung around their necks while the crowds gawk at them and throw the occasional fruit. And Dan should join them for enabling and encouraging them.

Paul Lucas

Posted July 3, 2017 at 3:05 PM

Isnt there some kind of code of ethics with him being the communication director for the DPOC? I mean seriously this kind of behavior by the troll really reflects badly on the DPOC and should be addressed by that body.

Cynthia Ward

Posted July 5, 2017 at 10:05 AM

Waste of good fruit.
BUT….reading the comments and their very personal vitriol it is clear the lawsuit or SOMETHING I am doing has them VERY upset, and I like that. I like it very much. The day they are HAPPY with me is the day I get worried. But yeah, they are not in the same league with my dogs and they need to shut it.

***sigh*** You’ll get a clue what he’s referring to, even if he doesn’t, from a comment of mine above, which explained why *I* tossed out an off-color joke about Michelle Steel and the eating of dogs and cats. Short version – it was making fun of something Michelle herself said from the dais.

And it was ME who made that dumb joke, not you. But in that fact-free Trump-like atmosphere over there, there’s no difference between you and me, and OC Dem says that YOU made that joke (and doesn’t understand the Michelle Steel context.)

The very stupid Dan took the fact-freeness another step further, claiming that YOU made a joke about CYNTHIA’S dogs. Meanwhile he doesn’t even read his own comments section closely enough to realize that, yes, there ARE threats against Sarah and Maggie on his fucked-up blog.

Ya know we have to start calling that white trash piece of shit what he is, basically the democrat version of trump with his incessant insults directed at few people and his below the belt insults. and his gaggle of anonymous goons which are actually only one guy, his buddy Mike Tardiff using multiple handles. His habit of throwing insults like hand grenades are straight out of Trumps play book. Call him the Irvine Trump Troll.

Not exactly. A liberal wouldn’t “thank God for the riots” so she didn’t have to make an unpopular vote against districts to help Latino representation. YOU know what she is. You helped popularize the word.